


Interlude #01

by MidoriKurenaiYume



Series: Re [3]
Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Drama, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2020-10-10 13:33:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20528846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidoriKurenaiYume/pseuds/MidoriKurenaiYume
Summary: Arturia's life would have been rather simple if she hadn't noticed a strange presence that definitely wasn't human.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Even though it's been a while since I updated this series, I haven't forgotten about my planned ghost stories ;) it won't be a very long fic, but I do have to warn that updates will be rather irregular.
> 
> Title: from a Kalafina song, part of the mini-album 'Re/Oblivious' :)

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Swiftly brushing her bangs out of her eyes, Arturia exhaled quietly. Another workday was over.

All the children had gone home and she had finally finished cleaning up the room where they had been playing. It had gotten a bit late because three of her fellow caretakers had called in sick, which meant that she had been on her own for most of the day, her boss Rin only managing to be present for a couple of hours but trusting her alone with the children the rest of the time. It seemed that it was a busy week for everyone.

She glanced at the clock, frowning slightly and holding back a deep sigh. She had classes in the morning, which meant that she needed to get going as soon as possible in order to catch the last bus and arrive home in time to take a shower and get some sleep.

As she was taking off her apron, her eyes idly wandered towards the large windows, and she paused.

He was there again.

On the other side of the glass, a translucent figure was staring at her. Arturia didn’t have the patience to deal with him at the moment, therefore she reluctantly directed a noncommittal nod in his direction before gathering her things.

She hoped he would get bored soon enough and leave, for she truly wasn’t in the mood to offer any kind of conversation, least of all with the ghost who had been around her for the past couple of months.

...

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	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I haven't forgotten about this story... it will continue ;)

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The first time she had taken real notice of his presence outside her house, she had genuinely believed him to be some kind of stalker.

By sheer luck, she had however found out that he couldn’t be a human being before she could make a fool of herself by addressing a ghost in public. Aside from the fact that no one else in her condominium seemed worried about the aimless man walking around their area, Irisviel had come to stay over one afternoon, and when crossing the street, had walked right through the mysterious person.

That had been enough to confirm to Arturia that he had to be a ghost. Being rational and down-to-earth most of the time, she hadn’t reacted with shock or fear, merely with slightly confused curiosity. She had not mentioned a word of his presence to Irisviel and, once her friend left the following morning, she had spent several minutes at the window, studying the ghost carefully.

She should have perhaps realized that there was something odd about him right away, mostly because of his strange clothes. They seemed to be extremely old-fashioned and close to something people would wear as a carnival costume, as they seemed to consist of nothing more than a tunic tied loosely in the front.

While his fashion choices could be questionable, what stood out in him and made it obvious that he didn’t belong to the modern street where he was lazily walking around was the expression of his eyes. It was ancient and knowledgeable, but also bored and dissatisfied. He seemed to regard everything with cold disdain, but most of the time, he was clearly lost in his thoughts and, if the dark expression he had then was anything to go by, they were not happy ones.

He rarely looked around with real emotion; the only time Arturia had seen something close to it had been when Irisviel had walked through him, and she had become acquainted with his obvious irritation. It was never really pronounced though, as he was clearly aware of being a ghost that no one could see.

Perhaps it wasn’t just the curiosity but also the consideration that he might be lonely that had made Arturia eventually decide to approach him.

Making sure that there was no one around who would hear her talk to the air, she had walked straight up to him.

“Excuse me for addressing you like this. I’d like to ask you a few questions,” she had said without preamble. “But I do not wish to be considered mad by having a conversation with someone no one can see, therefore please consider coming to my apartment complex’s lobby.”

The man’s translucent eyes had stared at her with nothing but surprise for a full minute, during which Arturia had endeavoured to wait.

He had then narrowed his eyes unexpectedly.

“A random human can see me,” he had uttered slowly, as if he hadn’t even been talking to her. “Among all these unworthy cretins, there is someone who dares gaze upon me?”

Taken aback by his tone, Arturia had blinked, beginning to realize that she should have probably considered her decision more carefully. Curiosity had made her approach him, but she shouldn’t have forgotten that she knew nothing about this ghost. If his first words to her were of any indication, he did not seem to have an amenable personality.

Pondering briefly, she had inclined her head to the side. While she had no intention of antagonizing him because she still didn’t know what exactly he was and what he was capable of, she definitely did not intend to take his insults in silence.

“Keep wandering the street pointlessly then,” she had replied evenly, no spite in her tone. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”

She had turned around and walked back to her apartment.

From then on, she had noticed him often staring at her whenever she happened to look towards the street, and while at first she could guess that there was mostly irritation in his expression, after a while it had become impossible to accurately discern his thoughts.

He hadn’t however taken her up on her offer and had kept his distance, simply staring at her in his scrutinizing, piercing manner. Becoming used to it had taken a while, but once she did, she had started to greet him with a slow nod every now and then, for example when she left for work in the morning and came back in the evening.

There was no further interaction between them, at least not until several months later.

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	3. Chapter 3

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He chose a decidedly inopportune moment to approach her for the first time.

She had left work at two o’clock in the afternoon – as she had only had the morning hours – and was carrying groceries home, staggering slightly because she had not only bought enough for the next few days, she had also made plans to have Irisviel and Rin over for dinner.

She did not realize that the ghost was no longer in the middle of the street, as she was too preoccupied with the weight of what she was carrying, but she became aware of it when he suddenly appeared in front of her the moment she was about to enter the lobby. He had decided not to go inside yet, instead waiting for her right next to the locked sliding doors.

Completely ignoring the fact that she was obviously busy, he addressed her without preamble, a question in his tone.

“Since for some reason you can apparently see me, it’s obvious that you are also aware of my identity.”

Arturia blinked, bewildered, and shifted slightly, her right shoulder starting to become numb from the weight she was carrying. Putting down a part of her purchases, and with her mind occupied with thoughts of the dinner she intended to cook, she unlocked the doors and picked up everything to walk inside.

Without bothering to hide his annoyance, the ghost followed her.

“Answer me, human,” he ordered, his voice now holding an imperious note.

Arturia did not have the energy to even attempt to reply as she reached the elevator, stumbling slightly, and pressed the button to call it down.

Turning towards the ghost before stepping inside, she briefly told him, “I don’t know who you are. But I do hold some curiosity about your identity, which is why I approached you. However, right now I don’t have the time to find out more about you, even though I would be interested, especially regarding the reason why you are haunting this place.”

Without another word, she turned around and stepped into the elevator, the last things she saw before the doors closed being his expression filled with outrage and disbelief.

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End file.
